WWF WrestleMania X
March 20, 1994
New York City, NY
Madison Square Garden

The current WWF Champs were as follows:
World Champion: Yokozuna (6/13/1993)
Intercontinental Champion: Razor Ramon (9/27/1993)
World Tag Team Champions: The Quebecers (1/17/1994)
Women’s Champion: Alundra Blayze (12/13/1993)

Your hosts are Vince McMahon and Jerry Lawler – making not only his WWF PPV announcing debut, but his first WWF appearance since the statutory rape charges in the fall of ’93.

Little Richard sings the national anthem.

• Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart
  

It’s the match you didn’t think you’d see, but you’re really glad its here. Owen kips up out of a head scissors and gloats about being the better wrestler. Bret calmly lets it go. Waistlock takedown by Bret, Owen goes to the ropes. Now Owen grabs a waistlock and Bret sends Owen flying out to the floor. Owen gets back in the ring and slaps the crap out of Bret. Bret still keeps his cool as Owen sneaks under the rope for safety. They exchange hammerlocks. Owen flips away from the pressure and yanks Bret down by his hair. Bret flips over Owen out of the corner and rolls him up for two. Back to the arm. Owen elbows out of a hammerlock, but runs into a monkey flip and takes a clothesline out to the floor. Back in, Bret gives Owen this expression like, “You wanna wrestle? Let’s wrestle!”. They shove each other back and forth. Bret slaps Owen and rolls him up for 1-2-NO! Bret goes back to the arm. Owen breaks free and hits the spinning heel kick. Owen stomps him out to the floor and slams Bret’s back into the ringpost! They head back into the ring where Owen whips Bret hard into the corner. Owen hits a backbreaker and hooks a camel clutch. Bret stands up and elbows out, but runs into a Belly-to-Belly Suplex for two. Owen hits a crossbody out of the corner, but Bret rolls through for two. Owen falls back on a slam and Bret gets two. Bret flips out of a suplex, but Owen with a standing switch and delivers a bridging German suplex for 1-2-NO! Bret blocks a suplex into a small package for two. Owen hits a Tombstone Piledriver and heads up top for the Swandive Headbutt, but nobody’s home! Bret comes back with an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline for two. Russian Legsweep gets two. Backbreaker/flying elbow drop gets two. Owen comes back with an enziguri and tries for the SHARPSHOOTER! Bret punches Owen away before the hold gets locked in and tries for it himself, but Owen rolls him away. Owen gets two off a neat-looking rollup. It’s the one where he stands behind you, jumps up, and tucks his feet in your armpits and rolls you back. Could never find out what that move was called. The momentum from the kick-out puts Owen on the floor, so Bret follows him out with a pescado and jams his knee on the floor. CONTINUITY~! Yes, its the same knee that was hurt back at the Rumble. Bret takes longer getting back in the ring thanks to the hurt knee than it takes Owen. Owen sees the injury and immediately kicks away at the knee! He starts to take Bret to school! Ric Flair would be so proud. Owen even goes as far as mocking his brother limping around the ring. Owen applies an Indian deathlock as the crowd chants, “let’s go Bret!”. Owen delivers a dragon screw leg whip to set up the figure-four. Bret reverses the hold into the ropes. Owen kicks at Bret’s knee some more in the corner and brings him out, but Bret hits OWEN with an enziguri! Bret sends Owen chest-first into the corner. Legdrop by Bret gets two. Running bulldog from Bret gets two. Bret delivers a Piledriver and covers for 1-2-NO! From there, Bret looks to finish Owen off with a superplex. Bret turns over on top for 1-2-NO! Bret grabs a sleeper, but Owen walks over to the ropes and low-blows Bret. Owen applies the SHARPSHOOTER! Bret reverses, but Owen’s in the ropes. Owen charges into a boot in the corner. That allows Bret to go for a victory roll, but Owen puts on the brakes with Bret’s shoulders on the mat and gets 1-2-3! (20:20) Twenty minutes long and not a single second was wasted. Everything meant something important and it worked perfectly. If there was ever a match that made Owen here in the states and caused people to take notice, it was this match. *****

In the back, Todd Pettingell gets a word with “Cottonmouth” Owen. He says that he is the best there is, the best there was, and he will be the best there ever will be. Can Bret compete in his title match? Owen says Bret’s a great wrestler, but he doesn’t have a hope in hell to win the championship tonight. NICE!

• Bam Bam Bigelow & Luna Vachon vs. Doink & Dink
  

Before the match, Howard Finkel comes to the ring with a toupee. He’s supposedly visited Sy Sperling’s Hair Club for Men, who is also at ringside. Anywho, Doink is the ‘less-cool-than-Matt-Bourne’ Ray Apollo. This is also mixed-tag rules: Bigelow wrestles Doink, Luna wrestles Dink. Bigelow attacks before the bell, but Doink comes back. They both miss a bunch of elbow drops and Dink gets a tag. Dink runs around the ring and avoids Luna until he gets kicked in the gut. Luna hits one Bossman straddle, but misses a second one. That gets two for Dink. He runs around Luna again and gets kicked in the gut…again. Dink moves away from an elbow drop, but misses something off the top. Luna slams him down and tries to splash a midget, but Dink moves and Doink gets the tag. Bigelow clotheslines Doink out. Dink wants him some of Bam Bam. Bigelow and Luna dive after him, but can’t reach the little guy. Back in, Doink tries a sunset flip on Bigelow, but gets squashed. Bigelow runs into a boot in the corner and takes an implant DDT. Doink misses the WHOOPIE CUSHION and Bigelow finishes him off with a Flying Headbutt. (6:10) Not the way I would’ve thought the Bigelow/Doink feud should have ended, but whatever. This was still kind of fun. *

Bill Clinton is in attendance! Well, not really. It’s an imposter. IRS is sitting behind him in the presidential box.

• Randy Savage vs. Crush (w/Mr. Fuji) – Falls Count Anywhere
  

Former friends, now mortal enemies! Savage meets Crush in the aisle way, but gets caught with an inverted atomic drop. Crush follows that up with a Tilt-a-Whirl Backbreaker and then drops Savage throat-first across the guardrail. Cover, 1-2-3. The rule is that you have sixty seconds to return the ring after the pinfall. If you can’t make it back in time, you lose the match. Savage makes it to the ring with thirty seconds left to spare when Fuji hits him in the back with the flagpole. He makes it back in with two seconds left. Crush beats up Savage some more and hangs him in the tree of woe. While the ref tries to help Savage, Fuji hands Savage some salt. Savage is free and shoves the salt back in Crush’s face. HOW DID HE KNOW?! Savage follows up with jabs and a flying double-ax handle. MACHO ELBOW DROP! Savage kicks Crush out to ringside and covers for 1-2-3. Crush is KO’ed until Fuji pours a pitcher of water on his face. Crush makes it back in the ring with two seconds to spare. Savage chokes Crush on the top rope, but charges into a backdrop to the floor. Crush follows him out and gets sent into the ringpost and the steps. Savage clotheslines Crush over the guardrail, but takes a side kick to the face. Savage backdrops out of a piledriver and throws Crush through a pair of doors. They go through another set of doors! It’s like Get Smart – only more violent. Savage covers for three. Lucky for Savage, there’s a scaffold and a rope/pulley device back there. Savage ties Crush’s legs and works the pulley before heading back to the ring. Crush is done. He can’t make it back in time. (9:42) As good as it was going to get with somebody limited like Crush. I’m glad they didn’t make a habit of the sixty-second rule though. **

Todd Pettingell is with “Bill Clinton”. He’s having fun. IRS congratulates Bill on raising the taxes.

• WWF Women’s Champion Alundra Blayze vs. Leilani Kai
  

If you can’t get a real Japanese woman wrestler to come to your biggest show of the year, why not just make one? Leilani Kai was at the first WrestleMania under the tutelage of the Fabulous Moolah in the battle against Wendi Richter and Cyndi Lauper. Alundra Blayze is Madusa from WCW. Remember the chick who threw the WWF Womens title into the garbage on Nitro? Yeah, her. Blayze flips over Kai a lot for nearfalls. Blayze hits a Ricky Morton hurracanrana, but Kai comes back and throws her out to the floor. Back in, Kai gets a double-arm suplex for two. Blayze ducks a clothesline and starts her comeback. Blayze hits a suplex for two. Blayze snapmares Kai by her hair a few times and then delivers the BRIDGING GERMAN SUPLEX for the win. (3:25) I would love to know what a typical fifteen year old guy who loves the WWE Divas of today would say about these two chicks. ¾*

In the back, Burt Reynolds steals Rhonda Shear away from Shawn Michaels.

• WWF World Tag Team Champions The Quebecers (w/Johnny Polo) vs. Men on a Mission (w/Oscar)
  

Yeah, there’s nothing like a rap group with a positive message playing up to a crowd of 20,000 white people. All MOM needed was Will Smith and they would have been WWE Hall of Fame bound – a-say WHAT, say WHAT? The Quebecers attack the big guys at the bell. Mabel goes down to his knees, but only temporarily. MOM deliver a drop toehold/legdrop combo to Pierre, followed by STEREO ELBOW DROPS! Jacques switches with Pierre behind the ref’s back and they start to isolate Mo. Mabel gets drawn in while Pierre chokes Mo with the tag rope. Jacques backdrops Pierre onto Mo for two. To the floor they go, where Jacques backdrops Pierre OVER the top rope onto Mo! Back in, that gets two. Double-team hotshot gets two. As the crowd gets behind Mo, he front flips into Jacques. Mabel gets drawn in again. Pierre tags, but misses a flying legdrop. HOT TAG TO MABEL! Backdrop to Pierre, Bossman slam to Jacques. Pierre avoids a corner splash and the Quebecers try for a double-suplex. They can’t on the first try, but they deliver on the second attempt! Its time for the SLINGSHOT SENTON! Cover, 1-2-NO! Mabel presses Pierre off him. Heel miscommunication ensues, and Pierre takes the Spinning Heel Kick! Mo shoves Mabel on top of Jacques, but Johnny Polo has the ref distracted. Pierre breaks up the pin, but hits Jacques by mistake. Mo clotheslines Pierre out to the floor and shoves Mabel on him! Johnny Polo yanks Jacques out and the champs head to the back and take the countout loss. (7:42) As good as it could be. MOM won the belts a week later in England, but lost them right back to the Quebecers two days later. *½

• WWF World Champion Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette) vs. Lex Luger – Special Referee: Mr. Perfect
  

Guest timekeeper: Rhonda Shear from USA network’s “Up All Night”. Guest ring announcer: Donnie Wahlberg back when he was just Donnie Wahlberg from NKOTB. Odd how NKOTB disbanded a few months after this show. Coincidence? Yeah, probably. After co-winning the Royal Rumble, Luger won a coin toss to get the first title shot at ‘Mania. What really makes things hard for Lex, is that one of his former enemies Mr. Perfect is the special referee. This is the first time we’ve seen Mr. Perfect since October. Vince can feel it! Lex is going to win the WWF championship tonight! Luger gets in Yoko’s face to start. He pounds away, but runs into a clothesline. Yoko misses an elbow drop and they go to the floor. Luger slams Yokozuna’s face into the steps a couple times. Back in, Luger hits a flying bodypress for 1-2-NO! Lex connects with the jumping elbow drop for two. Luger goes for a slam, but Yoko falls on top for two. Yoko exposes a turnbuckle and applies a nerve hold for a while. Luger finally breaks loose and he’s out on the floor with Fuji. Lex makes it back in at six. Back to the nerve hold. Luger fights out into a Belly-to-Belly Suplex. Yoko goes for the exposed turnbuckle smash, but Luger blocks and sends Yoko into the buckle instead. Luger knocks Yoko down with a trifecta of clotheslines and slams the big guy. Lawler ~ “Hiptoss! Hiptoss!” Luger hits the LOADED FOREARM and starts beating up Cornette and Fuji, who both jump up on the apron. Once he takes care of them, Luger covers. Perfect acts reluctant to count and checks on Fuji. Luger gets up and puts his hands on Perfect, so he DQ’s Luger. (14:38) Half of that was nerve holding. Crowd chants “bullspit”. Word on the street is that Luger was supposed to win the title here, but he spilled the beans while he was drinking in a bar the night before and Vince changed up the plans. ½*

Todd Pettingell questions Mr. Perfect in the back. He says nobody touches officials in the WWF. Well, unless you’re a woman referee and you happen to be Vince McMahon. Luger comes over and they bark at each other while security keeps the two separated.

• Earthquake vs. Adam Bomb (w/Harvey Wippleman)
  

Ooo, a Wippleman/Finkel feud! Wippleman insults the Fink until he gets punched in the mouth. Adam Bomb runs down to stand up for his manager until Earthquake runs in and promptly squashes with the EARTHQUAKE SPLASH. (0:34) Not sure why this was necessary. Bryan Clarke was always a pretty over guy heading into ‘Mania. CRAP

Todd Pettingzoo meets with Jim Cornette, Yokozuna and Mr. Fuji. Awesome promo by Cornette mentioning how Bret losing to his brother Owen was way too devastating for him to possibly defeat Yokozuna now.

• WWF Intercontinental Champion Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels (w/Diesel) – Ladder Match
  

It’s the battle to determine the undisputed WWF Intercontinental champion. HBK felt he was wrongfully stripped of the IC belt back in September and has since carried a replica belt around and claimed himself to be the real champion, regardless of the fact Razor Ramon was the actual champion. To win the match, one of the two has to grab both belts. Other than the backstory, I don’t think this needs any sort of hyperbole. Every wrestling fan is pretty familiar with this match, I suppose. They do a little bit of wrestling to start. HBK flips out of a hiptoss into a chokeslam. Shawn comes back with a swinging neckbreaker and tosses Razor out to the floor for a clothesline by Diesel. The ref suspects Diesel did something to Razor, which he did, so ref Earl Hebner sends Diesel to the back. Razor takes HBK to the floor and folds the ringside mats over to expose the concrete. Back in they go, Razor looks to give HBK the RAZOR’S EDGE from inside the ring on the concrete down below! HBK backdrops Razor over out to the concrete instead. It’s ladder time! Michaels brings the ladder towards the ring. Razor nails Shawn and grabs the ladder, so HBK baseball slides the ladder into Ramon! Shawn takes the ladder into the ring and jabs it right in Ramon’s gut a couple times. HBK follows up by slamming the ladder down across Razor’s back. Now Michaels makes the first climb. Razor grabs HBK by his tights – exposing a pair of cheeks. Shawn kicks him back and drops an elbow off the ladder! Shawn sets the ladder up in the corner and splashes Razor in a great highlight reel moment. Shawn makes another climb, but Razor turns the ladder over and causes Shawn to hotshot himself on the top rope. With both men up, they collide. Shawn folds the ladder up in the corner. Razor reverses a whip into the ladder and Shawn goes crashing out on the floor! SICK! Razor takes the ladder out to the floor with him and sandwiches Shawn in between the ladder and the ringpost. Razor tilts the ladder up against the apron and catapults Shawn into the ladder. Back in, Razor knocks Shawn over the top rope with the ladder and starts his first ladder climb. Shawn climbs up on the apron and comes off the top with a double-ax handle to save the match for himself. Now they both climb the ladder from each side. They slug each other until Razor slams HBK from the ladder to the mat below! Uh oh, the ladder turns over and takes Razor with it. Razor climbs again and touches the belts, but HBK dropkicks him off. Shawn hits the Superkick and a Piledriver. Shawn folds up the ladder and splashes the ladder across Razor’s body! Ramon is DONE! Shawn sets up the ladder over Razor’s body and starts to climb. Shawn touches the belts, but Razor gets up and shoulderblocks the ladder over. Shawn falls on the ropes and gets his foot tied up! That makes it easy for Razor to climb up and grab the belts. (18:45) This may not be the original ladder match, but it’s definitely the oldest one that everyone looks to when they think of great ladder matches. The bumps taken by Shawn Michaels in this match were unparalleled by anything ever seen before in the US– making this completely innovative. It may seem mild in comparison to what we’ve seen since then with more flashy moves while this match holds more substance and psychology. It’s a true classic and it always will be. *****

There’s supposed to be a ten-man tag match here, but the heel team (IRS, Jarrett, Martel and the Headshrinkers) can’t get along because everybody wants to be the team captain.

Todd Pettingell bother the Bill Clinton impersonator again. Now Ted DiBiase is in his box. He tells Bill that everybody has a price for the Million Dollar Man, even the president of the freakin’ United States of America. Oh, but Bill doesn’t want to talk politics tonight.

They play a segment of Bret Hart clips set to Tom Petty’s “Makin’ Some Noise” that was played on the final SNME with some new Owen Hart clips put in from earlier in the night! Clips of Yokozuna squashing people interrupts.

• WWF World Champion Yokozuna (w/Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette) vs. Bret Hart – Special Referee: Roddy Piper
  

Guest timekeeper: Jeannie Garth from Beverly Hills 90210. Guest ring announcer: Burt Reynolds. As for the special referee, don’t forget we saw Bret defeat Piper for the IC title two years earlier at WrestleMania 8. By the way, this was his first WWF appearance since SummerSlam 1992. Yokozuna attacks Bret right from the start. He stays in the hair and bites Bret’s nose, which causes Piper to get in Yoko’s face about it. He will not take any crap from anybody tonight! Bret fights back and headbutts Yoko, but it looks to have taken more out of Bret than Yoko. Yokozuna goes to the eyes and Piper yells at him again. Bret hammers Yokozuna down and covers for 1-2-NO! Cornette pulls Piper out and gets nailed. Piper gets in Yoko’s face about choking, so Yokozuna Legdrops Bret. Yoko bows to Fuji and throws Bret over to the top rope. Bret makes it back in at nine. Yokozuna misses a buttalanche and Bret hits a bulldog for 1-2-NO! Flying elbow drop gets two. Jumping clothesline gets two. Bret comes off the middle rope and gets caught with a Belly-to-Belly Suplex! Time for the BANZAI DROP! Whoops, Yokozuna slips and hits the back of his head on the mat. Bret covers for 1-2-3! New champ. (10:31) And the roof is blown off MSG. More of a great moment than a great match. Curious how Yokozuna didn’t go after the leg considering Cornette made a point to say that he knows the leg is hurting. Various babyfaces from the locker room come down to celebrate with Bret. Owen walks out and they all want the two to embrace, but he just stands there and glares at Bret from the aisle way. There couldn’t be a better way to end the show. **¼

Final Thoughts: A thoroughly enjoyable WrestleMania no matter what generation you come from. For the Bret lovers, this is an obvious must-see. For the HBK lovers, this is an obvious must-see. It has a little bit of everything from fantastic wrestling, a perfect ladder match, brawling, fat people, clowns, midget clowns, Randy Savage, Jim Cornette, to Roddy Piper. While it may not be the one of the best all-around cards because there are some time-wasters on here, it’s definitely looked back on with fond memories. Thumbs up for WrestleMania 10.